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A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
Putnam
April 2008
On Sale: April 17, 2008
Featuring: Nathaniel Ayers
288 pages
ISBN: 0399155066
EAN: 9780399155062
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Biography
A moving story of the remarkable bond between a journalist in search of a story and a homeless, classically trained musicianโdestined to be a major motion picture from DreamWorks, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. When Steve Lopez saw Nathaniel Ayers playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los Angelesโ skid row, he found it impossible to walk away. More than thirty years earlier, Ayers had been a promising classical bass student at Juilliardโambitious, charming, and also one of the few African-Americansโuntil he gradually lost his ability to function, overcome by schizophrenia. When Lopez finds him, Ayers is homeless, paranoid, and deeply troubled, but glimmers of that brilliance are still there. Over time, Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers form a bond, and Lopez imagines that he might be able to change Ayersโs life. Lopez collects donated violins, a cello, even a stand-up bass and a piano; he takes Ayers to Walt Disney Concert Hall and helps him move indoors. For each triumph, there is a crashing disappointment, yet neither man gives up. In the process of trying to save Ayers, Lopez finds that his own life is changing, and his sense of what one man can accomplish in the lives of others begins to expand in new ways. Poignant and ultimately hopeful, The Soloist is a beautifully told story of friendship and the redeeming power of music.
 Media BuzzAll Things Considered - April 23, 2009
Diane Rehm Show - NPR - March 16, 2009
Fresh Air - NPR - April 22, 2008
News and Notes - April 22, 2008
Tavis Smiley - April 16, 2008
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